Field
The present invention relates to the field of chemistry and medicine. More particularly, the present invention relates to method of treating a brain tumor using Plinabulin.
Description of the Related Art
Cancers of the brain and nervous system are among the most difficult to treat. Prognosis for patients with these cancers depends on the type and location of the tumor as well as its stage of development. For many types of brain cancer, average life expectancy after symptom onset may be months or a year or two. Treatment consists primarily of surgical removal and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is also used, but the range of suitable chemotherapeutic agents is limited, perhaps because most therapeutic agents do not penetrate the blood-brain barrier adequately to treat brain tumors. Using known chemotherapeutics along with surgery and radiation rarely extends survival much beyond that produced by surgery and radiation alone. Thus improved therapeutic options are needed for brain tumors, and this condition has a dire unmet medical need.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common adult primary brain tumor and is notorious for its lethality and lack of responsiveness to current treatment approaches. There have been no substantial improvements in treatment options in recent years, and minimal improvements in the survival prospects for patients with GBM. For GBM, average life expectancy after symptom onset is around 6-12 month. In addition, there are no approved drugs for treating metastatic brain tumor, which has an average life expectancy after symptom onset at 4-6 months. Thus there remains an urgent need for improved treatments for cancers of the brain.